Parliament members call on President Ahmadinejad to deal 'with severity' with his deputy who was quoted as saying Iranians are 'friends of all people in the world -- even Israelis'

More than 200 Iranian parliament members slammed Vice President Esfandiar Rahim Mashai for stating that Iranians are 'friends of all people in the world -- even Israelis.'

In a condemnation statement issued by the parliament members, they called on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to "deal with his deputy with severity" - in other words, to ensure that he is dismissed.

"Mr. Mashai has no right to make such shameful remarks, and is not at the position to take such responsibility," the statement said. "It appears that Mr. Mashai is unaware of the fact that those who he refers to as a people are the ones occupying the homes of millions of Palestinians."

The statement noted that "these people created the illegitimate Zionist regime. We do not recognize a country called Israel, let alone its people."...

...Speaking at a conference in Iran about a month ago, he deviated from the Tehran regime's official stance against Israel, saying that "no nation in the world is our enemy. Iran today is the friend of the people in the United States and in Israel."...

...Meanwhile, the Iranian president continued to give an example to his people by stating Wednesday that Western countries must stop supporting Israel and that "the life of the regime there has come to an end."...

The world should know that the Zionist regime is plundering and illegitimate. Its existence does not serve the interests of humanity. It is harmful to everybody. The plundering Zionist entity is close to its end. In my view, this regime is dead, and they are only postponing its funeral, while others believe that it is only in the process of dying. In any case, the era of the so-called Zionist entity has come to an end.